Thread by @NewtonMark

Many years ago, @qantas used to run cadetships where they trained new pilots in airline ops in exchange for several years of bonded work. Now trainees pay for it themselves, owing Qantas up to $150k in VET-FEE debt, effectively paying for a job. australianaviation.com.au/2018/08/pilot-…

@Qantas As a result, airline careers are pretty unattractive now. No 22 year old wants a $150,000 debt hanging over them when they’re not financially established and don’t even have a guarantee of work. So @qantas has been running out of pilots.

@Qantas Rather than return to the model of yore, @qantas has gone crying to the govt to solve the problem they created: “Nobody wants to do this work since we wrecked it, so can we have a bunch of special-condition 457’s to do it instead?” Govt says, “Sure thing!”

@Qantas Thus Qantas has been successful in creating major structural change in their industry: They’ve slashed their training costs by moving them onto the shoulders of bright eyed and bushy tailed young people, AND they now won’t have to hire seasoned (expensive) old hands either.

@Qantas Special pleasing from a company that’s so over sensitive that it’s management shut down the entire airline for two weeks because the pilots protested this exact thing by wearing the wrong coloured ties.

@Qantas So yes: Remember this. “The Spirit of Australia,” decimating an Australian industry and Australian careers so they can import their pilots from NZ instead. (don’t get me started on JetConnect) australianaviation.com.au/2018/08/pilot-…